Europeans walk out on Iran’s president at UN conference

Geneva, April 20 (DPA) Delegates from the European Union (EU) walked out of the Durban Review Conference on racism in Geneva Monday during a speech by Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in which he made derisive remarks about Israel. The Iranian leader said that Palestinians had been “made homeless” following World War II “under the pretext of Jewish suffering”.

There was a “racist regime in Palestine”, he said, and added that Western powers have “given them a free hand to continue their crimes”.

Ahmadinejad also said “Zionists (Israel) and their allies” planned the Iraq war and that “World Zionism personifies racism”.

France had threatened to leave the conference if he made such statements.

One European official said the delegates walked out due to the “inflammatory” remarks.